Am I missing out by not having Windows 8 (Because of Directx 11.2)

[DoYouEvenModBro]

Do games even use DX 11.2? I heard that you can only utilize DX11.2 with Windows 8. I currently use Windows 7 64-bit

[Aiyen]

Short answer: No

 

 

Long answer: Nothing is going to change on the game front until next year when the next generation console titles start to get released.

The main difference between dx 10 and dx 11 is increased support for tessellation (Fancy parallax). (This in terms of added features that the earlier ones cannot handle).

 

There are a lot of other developer oriented changes as well but this mostly does not matter for the end user.

 

And even then then windows 8 is as far as I can see it just another one of the those MS releases they had to release because they decided on a release schedule... it is not remotely close to a quantum leap.

 

Edit: For desktop users! Not mobile! Obviously.

[DoYouEvenModBro]

Short answer: No

 

 

Long answer: Nothing is going to change on the game front until next year when the next generation console titles start to get released.

The main difference between dx 10 and dx 11 is increased support for tessellation (Fancy parallax). (This in terms of added features that the earlier ones cannot handle).

 

There are a lot of other developer oriented changes as well but this mostly does not matter for the end user.

 

And even then then windows 8 is as far as I can see it just another one of the those MS releases they had to release because they decided on a release schedule... it is not remotely close to a quantum leap.

 

Edit: For desktop users! Not mobile! Obviously.

Do you know what DX11.2 is even supposed to add? I'm pretty sure they're going to end up giving Windows 7 support for DX11.2. Apparently 11.1 used to be Windows 8 only but they made it Windows 7 too. I could be wrong on that so I'm sorry if I am. They're most likely just using DX11.2 as an incentive for people to upgrade to Windows 8. I personally don't feel like upgrading to Windows 8 and then spending hours trying to fix program and driver incompatibilities. 

[PioneerRaptor]

Honestly, I wouldn't upgrade to Windows 8 from Windows 7 unless you can get it cheap. This isn't because Windows 8 is bad, it's because both of them are really good with Windows 8 being a little faster (for me at least). I only upgraded because I was able to get Windows 8 Pro for 15$!

[Aiyen]

All this DX stuff is only to lure in developers atm. Not end users... since there are no products that take advantage of it then its a rather silly thing really.

 

And no I forgot the fine print in what they could, but it was something to do with large scale texture loading for landscapes etc. Or better support for it. But again this is mainly to lure developers of game engines into the fold, and ultimately game developers so they start making products that work and MS then can say "Use our fancy stuff here and your program will perform/look better".

[DoYouEvenModBro]

All this DX stuff is only to lure in developers atm. Not end users... since there are no products that take advantage of it then its a rather silly thing really.

 

And no I forgot the fine print in what they could, but it was something to do with large scale texture loading for landscapes etc. Or better support for it. But again this is mainly to lure developers of game engines into the fold, and ultimately game developers so they start making products that work and MS then can say "Use our fancy stuff here and your program will perform/look better".

As far as I'm concerned, Microsoft is as evil as a company as Bank of America and Verizon. On the other hand, I kind of hate Apple too. I think every huge corporation just eventually becomes a piece of sh** as profit-increases becomes the number one priority. It's unavoidable. 

[WilliamImm]

I'm pretty sure that Linux will rise for gamers (what, with Steambox and Steam's push for Linux), possibly even for everyone else. As for Windows 8 - eh. If you ignore the Metro interface (which I am doing for the desktop), it's pretty much the same thing, only without a start button (that can be added via a variety of custom programs - StartMenu8 being my current favorite).

 

Then again, the touch UI is pretty fun to play with if you are using a laptop like the Yoga 13 (or the Surface Pro). Bottom line: If things come with Windows 8, that's fine, but you don't need to upgrade. If anything, expect to see a push for mainstream Linux.

[TechAngel85]

I'm on Windows 8 and can say there's not much of a reason to upgrade form Windows 7 unless you can get it cheap. My was free via college and that's the only reason I have it. Many got it for $40 when Microsoft was doing that deal. It's pretty much the same as Windows 7 besides having to do some things a bit differently. Btw, the start button is returning with Windows 8.1; however, it's still not the old style like Windows 7.